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For the past three years, Chico State’s Gender and Sexuality Equality Center has hosted an event focusing on menstruation and women’s health. This year it’s called Let’s Talk About Periods.

Let’s Talk about Periods is a two day event, March 13 and 14, that’s held on the Chico State campus. The event is free and open to all students.

“Our whole idea behind Let’s Talk About Periods is to talk about issues surrounding menstruation and also trying to de-stigmatize a lot of people’s ideas about menstruations,” said Mikaela “Mikie” Weidman, GSEC women’s program coordinator.

The event’s first day will consist of tabling and a menstrual product drive. GSEC, Health Education And Promotion, Community Action Volunteer in Education, Public Health Clinic, Wildcat Food Pantry and Red Artemis will be attending the event and tabling. Every organization will be talking about a different topic concerning women, menstruation and women’s health.

The Public Health Clinic will be talking about birth control, GSEC is making heating pads for menstrual cramps at their table and the Wildcat Food Pantry will be doing a pop-up pantry.

The menstrual product drive will be collecting products like pads and tampons to those who might not have easy access to them. All products from the drive will be donated to 6th Street Center for Youth or the Wildcat Food Pantry.

“A lot of tampons and pads are very expensive, so its hard for a lot of students (to access them), so being able to provide free tampons and pads for them is really important because when it comes around (to) that time of the month for them they may not have something, so we’re just trying to do our best to provide for people who can’t,” Weidman said.

Let’s Talk About Periods will also hold a self-love workshop, led by Chico State Professor Lindsay Briggs, which focuses on body positivity and a period painting activity.

“One of my goals is definitely to get a lot of people (on) board with the menstrual cusp,” said Carley Hall, women’s program intern. “Another goal is to get a lot of people to go to that (self-love) workshop and create what they feel.”

Carley Hall, women’s program intern, is one of the several interns helping to organize Let’s Talk About Periods. Photo credit: Kelsi Sibert

The second and final day of Let’s Talk About Periods will consist of a uterine and body health workshop that will take place in Bell Memorial Union 203.

“One of our workshops is uterine care and body care, so I’m hoping people will know (how) to tell if something is off about their body and be able to detect that stuff and be healthier,” Weidman said.

The event is aiming to help women and inform them about their bodies, what goes on inside and clear up misconceptions about their bodies.

“We’re just trying to promote how amazing people’s bodies are, that they’re able to produce stuff like this and also give knowledge on certain things that students may not know,” Weidman said.

Kelsi Sibert can be reached at ksibert@mail.csuchico.edu or @ksibertofficial on Twitter